Somebody's Watching
by WritePassion
Summary: Michael asks Sam to watch over his mom when things with Carla get dicey.


**Somebody's Watching**

By WritePassion

"Sam, I need a favor. Would you please go over to my mom's and keep an eye on her for a few days?" He held out his phone to Sam, his mother's number already dialed, and it was ringing.

Sam sighed and took the phone just as Maddie answered. "Hey Maddie, it's me, Sam Axe." He put on his best depressed tone of voice. "Listen, Mike is kind of getting tired of me moping around at his place. Would it be okay if I stayed with you for a couple days? Until I get my own place, that is?" He listened, and a slow smile spread across his face. "Thanks a lot, Maddie. I'll be right over."

"Thanks, Sam." Michael took the phone back from his friend. "It'll only be for a few days, I promise."

"You owe me for this one, buddy." Sam packed up his things from Michael's loft and headed over to Maddie's. He never much liked babysitting assets, and with it being Michael's mom, that made it ten times worse. He'd be lucky to survive a few days of her chain smoking. Yes, Michael Westen owed him big time for this favor.

When Sam arrived, Maddie opened the door and greeted him with a big grin and a smoldering cigarette between her fingers. "Sam, it's so nice to see you again!" She surprised him with a brief hug. "Now, you don't have to worry about a thing, honey, I've got the spare room all set for you. Come in!" She led him to the room off the dining area and ushered him inside with the sweep of her arm. "Just make yourself at home."

"Thanks, Maddie. I promise I won't be here long. Don't want to put you out or anything."

"Oh, it's no bother! It'll be nice having someone else around besides myself." She grinned again, and Sam detected some animosity behind her words as she continued, "God knows I hardly get to see Michael these days. He's so preoccupied with...something." She shrugged. "Oh well, after you've settled in, why don't you join me in the living room? My favorite cooking show will be on in a few minutes!"

"O...okay." Sam spoke to thin air as Maddie had already moved to the living room. The soft sounds of dialogue crossed the empty space when the television came to life.

She yelled over the din. "Would you like some iced tea?"

"Yeah, sure, Maddie. Whatever you're having is fine with me." What he really wanted was a beer. He had no intention of really moving in, but to put up appearances, he unpacked his things and put them in the dresser and the closet. He emerged just in time for the cooking show to begin.

"Hey, that sounds pretty good, doesn't it," Maddie asked as she puffed away on her cigarette. "The thing I hate about these shows is that they talk so fast, I can't get all the ingredients written down."

Sam rolled his eyes and set down his glass on the coffee table. "Here, Maddie, give me that pad of paper. I'll do it."

"Thank you, Sam. You're such a sweetheart." She grinned in such a way that he knew he'd been swindled into it, but he figured he'd play along. After all, it was the least he could do for the free room for awhile, even if it was under false pretenses.

That night, he made the curry dish. Michael stopped by for a little while and Sam managed to get him to taste it, but he wouldn't stay. He understood that when Mike was on a mission, he was hard to pin down for even a simple thing like dinner. Instead, he and Maddie shared the meal over a couple of beers.

"I don't understand why Michael always breezes in and then he's gone...poof! Just like the wind."

"He's busy, Maddie." Sam washed down a bite of the spicy dish with a swig of beer. "His clients keep him busy."

"Just what does he do for these 'client's' anyway?"

He took a good swallow before answering. "It's probably better if you don't know."

"You know, and you won't tell me. Why? What's the big secret?" She waved her cigarette haphazardly in the air.

Sam wondered if he should cut her off or let her drink some more until she stopped asking questions. "It's for your safety. That's all."

"I suppose that's his excuse for leaving me for ten years and not telling me where he was. Why couldn't he trust me?"

"He trusts you plenty." Sam sighed and set his empty bottle on the table, then got up for two more. As he handed Maddie another round, he said, "He cares too much to let you get involved. You're better off this way. Trust me." He took a long pull on his beer. "You trust me, don't you, Maddie?"

"Yes, Sam." She nodded vigorously. "Yes, I trust you."

"Well, then, believe me when I tell you that there are plenty of things about the last ten years that Mike has never told me, either. I just know he's always been there when I needed him." He frowned. "Except that time in Columbia." He shook his head as if doing so would make the memory go away.

"What happened in Columbia?"

"Forget I said anything, Maddie. Forget all this stuff about Mikey. We're just here, hanging out, eating our curry whatever the heck this stuff is called, and having a good time. Right?"

"Right." Maddie set down the bottle and it teetered.

Sam reached across the table, snatched it, and kept it from falling. He held it up and noted it was empty. "Maddie! Holy crap, you're getting ahead of me here!"

"I don't care. Just shut up and get me another one, okay Sam?" She tilted her head and grinned at him, and he rose to get her another beer. By the time he returned, she was working on his.

"Hey!"

"Sorry, I thought it was mine." She smiled sheepishly.

"Fine. I'm taking this one." Sam popped off the cap and started on the fresh bottle.

"Sam...I'm sorry about Veronica. From what you said, she seemed like a nice girl."

"Yeah, she was." He closed his eyes and tried to wish away the vision of her, but she only appeared in more intense, living color. "But nice girls don't like it when you're already married."

Maddie's eyes widened to the size of saucers. "Y-you're married? When did this happen?"

"It was too long ago. We were practically kids, and it was a stupid mistake." He paused and took a long drink. "We stayed together, sort of, for about ten years, but I was gone a lot of the time, serving all over the world. One time I came home on leave..." Bitterness crept into his voice. "I caught her polishing my best friend's buttons. It was over after that...we just never got around to...ending it permanently."

"Oh, Sam, I'm so sorry." Maddie's voice came out in a whisper and her eyes glistened. She reached across the table for his hand, but he pulled back and leaned his weight on two chair legs.

"It's okay. I've been over it for a long time." His false bravado was so thick, she could almost cut it with a knife.

"Sure. I can tell." She didn't sound convinced. "Kind of like how Michael is over Fiona. He says they're no longer together."

Sam laughed coldly, the subject of his wife still too raw. "Yeah, don't let him fool you, Maddie. Michael loves her like a hurricane. Hurricane Fiona. She loves him right back just as intensely, and it devastates them both, 'cause he gets short-sighted sometimes. He lets other things distract him from what's important. Relationships. Trust. Love. You know, stuff like that."

"Trust." Maddie shook her head. "I don't think Michael knows what that means. Not that I blame him."

Sam put his weight back down on the chair's four legs and slammed his bottle on the table. "That's not true. I've trusted him with my life, and he's done the same with me. If I had a brother, he'd be Mike. I...I love him as if he were." He paused, taking another drink. "He'd never sleep with my wife, that's for sure."

"I did a lot for him when he and Nate were kids, but it was tough. Frank was like a powder keg, I never knew when he'd blow up at me or the kids...Michael always got the worst of it." She paused and ran her fingertips over her cheek as if she were feeling for an old wound that had long disappeared. "That's how he got a lot of those scars on his face, you know."

"I figured as much. He never likes to talk about his childhood. Neither do I, come to think of it." He fell silent and tried to focus on the label on the beer bottle in front of him.

Maddie let out a deep, drawn out sigh and rested her chin in her hand. "My boys, you're all so wounded."

Sam didn't like where this conversation was going. "Hey, how about we play some cards?"

Maddie laughed, but it came out sounding like anything but amusement. "Sure, we'll play cards if you hang around tomorrow and play canasta with me and the girls."

"Yeah, sure, that'd be nice." Having his fingernails pulled out with a pliers would probably be more enjoyable, but he had a job to do. He had to keep watch over Mike's mom, and he would do it even if it meant being subjected to hours of old lady gossip.

He survived four hours of their chatter, and after the ladies had left, she chided him as he straightened up the table. "I can't believe you, Sam. You ruined what was looking like a perfect game for me!"

"I did?"

"Oh, don't play so innocent. You knew exactly what you were doing when you hustled all of us." She suddenly smiled as if all was forgiven. "It was worth it, though, to see Agnes Johnson lose. She's one of my best friends, but some times that woman drives me nuts! Even though it wasn't my best game, I had a great time. Thank you, Sam."

He shrugged. "You're welcome. I guess it was a good thing I was around or you would have been short a hand."

"Yes. Oh, it's almost time for the cooking show! Get that pad and pen ready, Sam! I can hardly wait to see what you're cooking tonight!"

Maddie knew Sam wasn't staying with her just for a place to sleep. Something was going on with Michael's work, and Sam was keeping an eye on her for whatever reason. She wasn't stupid. Eventually she would figure it out and call them both out on the carpet; until then, she found it sweet that Sam allowed himself to be dragged along wherever she went. The water aerobics class was normally the highlight of her week because the instructor was a hunk. Seeing Sam participate, the only guy besides the instructor, amused her. She admired his ability to take it in stride and ignore the attention he got from the other ladies. All the while, he kept an eye on their surroundings, tracking the occasional person casually strolling past the pool. She wondered if he had a gun on him, and if he did, where did he keep it? She had to restrain herself from giggling aloud at that thought.

"Okay, Maddie, what was so funny during class?"

"What? What are you talking about?" She nervously played with the straw in her smoothie as they sat on a bench across from the beach, enjoying a little after class treat.

Sam smirked and took a spoonful of his slushie. "Fine, be that way. You looked at me and all of a sudden you were grinning. What, was my form bad or something?"

"No, you were fine." She sighed and stretched her sore legs. "You're a real trouper for going with me. Michael never would have done that."

"Thanks. I've always been curious about water aerobics. Although, I'm sorry, it's not quite my thing." He paused. "No offense, but...it's kind of lame. You know, I think all you ladies just go to feast your eyes on the instructor." He winked at her, and she blushed a little before turning away and avoiding his eyes. He laughed. "Yeah, I knew it."

"Maybe, but today the ladies had a little..." She cleared her throat. "Distraction." She turned back with a wide smile. "Well look at that! Now you're blushing!"

"Am not." He scowled and looked away, all the while feeling his cheeks warm.

"Are too!"

"Am not."

"Yes, you are." She giggled. "I think they all want you to come back on Thursday."

"Whatever." _Mike really owes me for this assignment! _He ignored her teasing and directed his attention to a car parked a couple hundred yards away. Someone inside seemed to be very intent on them. "Maddie, I think we better get back home." He swallowed the last of his slushie. "We're gonna miss the cooking show."

"Oh my, you're right!" She leaped up, tossed her cup in the trash, and said, "Let's get going!"

All the way back to Maddie's, Sam kept a close watch on the rearview mirror and any traffic that seemed to be trailing them for too long. It must have been paranoia, because the driver of the car didn't follow them and they made it home without incident. As he let Maddie go ahead of him, Sam's eyes swept the area for anything unusual, and he didn't release a breath of relief until they were inside and he locked the door behind them. Not that any of Maddie's locks would keep someone out if they were determined, but at least they would provide a warning. The guest room was in a strategic spot in case anyone tried to storm the house at night, and every entrance but the front door required an invader to pass the room before going upstairs. Maybe he would sleep on the couch tonight, just in case.

"Sam, you're not listening! Did you get that? Chopped scallions! He said chopped scallions sauteed in olive oil."

"Huh? Oh yeah, sorry." He quickly scribbled down the instructions.

"And garlic. Don't forget the garlic!"

"Yeah, I've got it, Madelyn. Don't worry!" He shook his head. She was starting to take this a little too far. _What will she do when I'm back to my old routine and she's alone again?_

As Maddie settled under the sheets, she listened to the floor creak downstairs. She used to fear those sounds when Frank was alive, and after he was gone, knowing that Michael dealt with dangerous people caused her to wonder if it was someone in her house coming to kill her in her sleep. But now she had nothing to worry about because Sam was there. She heard water running. A glass clinked in the sink. Then the floor creaked again as he moved into the living room. _Why is he still up? It's after midnight!_ _Maybe I should go down and keep him company. _She heard his voice and if she stayed still and listened closely, she could make out the words as he paced the floor.

"Yeah, everything's going great here, Mike...no, she hasn't, she's been good company... You should spend more time with her, man. She's starved for attention." He paused. "Okay, whatever. I'm just tellin' you, your mom is a terrific lady and she deserves more from you... No, we're not getting into me and my mom, this is about her and you." She heard him sigh heavily. "So, anyway, what's up with Carla? Uh huh...okay, yeah, I can do this. But I really do need to find my own place, Mike. I can't stay here forever. She might adopt me or something." He laughed softly. "Okay, I'll talk to you tomorrow. 'Night."

Maddie smiled. She was touched by his concern for her and wished that Michael would show even a fraction of the care Sam showed her. Unfortunately, it was too late to trade him in for Sam. He would make a good son. She made a mental note to some day ask him what happened with his mom, and why she seemed to be a non-entity in his life. It just didn't add up.

The next day at breakfast Sam asked, "Maddie, you wanna go on a field trip of sorts? Help me scout out some potential places to live?"

"Sure." She tried to hide her disappointment with a smile. "Maybe afterwards we can go to the beach!"

"We'll see how long this takes first." He was on a scouting mission alright, but he was looking for a suspect, not a place to live. They parked in front of the hotel and Maddie grew increasingly bored as Sam took pictures of men who fit the description of his target.. At the same time that he shot a series of photos of a well-dressed olive skinned man, Maddie spoke. "You know, Sam, if you're going to look at a place you have to do more than sit in the car and take pictures of it."

"Yeah, I know, Maddie. Maybe I'm not ready for this yet."

He hated to say those words, because he knew it would add fuel to her sense of happiness, and if he wasn't careful, she'd never let him leave even after he didn't have to protect her anymore. He liked Maddie, but living with her was too much of a good thing. As Michael promised, a few days later the mission was over and Sam was free to leave. He found himself a nice little place he could afford on his pension, and although he was happy to be on his own again, he felt bad for Maddie. He contemplated how to tell her while he packed up his things. That was where she found him.

"Sam, what are you doing?" The look on her face reminded him of the last time he'd seen his mom, her expression one of shock and heartache.

"I found a place to live, Maddie. It's even furnished, so all I need to bring in are my bags." He grinned. "Can't get any better than that, huh?"

"I...I suppose." She dropped her arms to her sides and her cigarette dangled dangerously between her fingers. "I thought you were going to stay...awhile."

"Nope. Just until I found another place. That's what I said, and that's what I'm doing." He glanced up from his half filled duffel bag, and his voice softened. "It was, well, I had a better time than I thought I would. But a guy's gotta have his own place, you know? If I wanted to live with a mother figure, I'd...never mind. I'm sorry."

"No...no, you're right. You're not my son, and I have no rights to you." She pasted on a cheerful smile. "Well, you know you're always welcome to come around and play canasta or poker with me and the girls. Anytime."

Sam chuckled and smiled. "Thanks, Maddie. I just might have to do that and show up your best friend Agnes again."

"That would be great."

Sam finished packing, and Maddie followed him out to the car where he dumped his things in the trunk. He turned and nearly collided with her, and he looked down into her usually sparkling blue eyes that were shadowed with sadness. She quickly looked away, but he leaned down, took her into his arms and hugged her. "Thanks again, Maddie, for taking me in for a little while. I really appreciate it."

"You're welcome, Sam. Any time." As he pulled out of the driveway, she waved and hoped that it wouldn't be long before he came back. And with luck, maybe he would bring Michael along.


End file.
